Joyride
by kcurtsrednuhT
Summary: Chariot gets a lucky break as a mechanic for an underground street racing ring.


For once in my life, I was glad my parents don't care enough to check up on me. What would they say if they saw me now, in a stranger's basement, working on a stolen car? Would they be proud of me for actually doing something? Disappointed that it was so obviously illegal?

It didn't matter.

All that mattered now was finishing these upgrades. The race was in a few hours, and who wanted to drive some boring old cars? The people wanted _more_. And it's my job to give it to them. I was the only 'mechanic' for the ring, though I did a lot more than just fix up the vehicles.

That piece goes there, and...done, for now. I texted my boss telling him I was finished,and quickly stuffed some spare parts in my backpack on my way out. It's not like anyone would notice - I was the only one who came down here anymore.

I caught the bus on the way home. I needed all the time I could to work on this project before the race started.

If everything went according to plan, this would be a night to remember.

Signing up as a racer wasn't as hard as I expected it to be. I already knew most of the passwords and such, so all I really had to do was make up a fake 'cape' name, get a vehicle (which wasn't difficult for me), and show up at the right time. Not very complicated.

As I made my way to the door I knew housed the street racing ring, I got that nagging doubt again. _Should I really be doing this? The boss made it clear I wasn't to participate…_

But really, how was I supposed to make all this awesome stuff and just not use it?

Finding the door I came here for, I quickly slipped on my motorcycle helmet and made a mental note to lower my voice a little. I then knocked twice, then once slowly, then three times. The door slid open to allow me in, and I passed through with a small wave to the frowning man who opened the door to me.

I glanced around the place, tugging at the collar of my oversized sweatshirt. There were a few small tables with some seedy looking people playing poker or watching the television, which I couldn't see from this angle. A vending machine sat in the corner, though judging by the layer of dust it didn't seem to get much use.

I knew the way from here. Walking over to the counter for racers, I found that the attendant wasn't paying attention. It was a kid who looked similar to my own age - 14? 15? I shifted uncomfortably in my jeans and knocked on the table. He jumped in surprise, moving his hands over his phone.

"Oh, um. Hi. Are you, um, are you here for the race?" The boy quickly glanced back at his phone under the counter before returning his attention to me.

"Yeah, name's Chariot," I replied, taking my hands out of my pockets along with fifty dollars in cash. I gave him my best intimidating look as I slammed the money on the counter."I know where to go." The boy looked surprised at that, before nodding and taking the money, going back to what he was doing.

I glanced around before ducking into a side door that I knew led to the garage. Inside, I saw a strangely empty garage, with a few familiar cars inside.

Then I saw it. The Shining Chariot.

Cheesy, sure, but it deserved the name. It was my best accomplishment yet! Months of work with pathetic materials built up to landing this job a couple months ago, giving me access to far better parts that I snagged whenever possible. It boasted a sleek white design with black streaks, a true work of art if I do say so myself. Sadly, though, it didn't have much special about it. Just a few upgrades here or there.

My keys fit in the lock perfectly, and as soon as I opened the door I was in, shifting a bit to try and find a comfortable position. Everything in it was so _smooth_. Every button and knob painstakingly built to my standard of perfection. And I was finally going to drive it. I took a minute to simply marvel at the beauty of what I had made.

I was broken out of my stupor by a series of knocks on the window. Fumbling for the button to roll down the window, I was met with an angry tirade.

"What the hell are you doing out here? The race starts in _five minutes_ , you fucking moron! GO!" Barely glancing up to see the bearded man I belatedly recognized as my boss, my mind suddenly caught up and I slammed on the gas.

And almost drove directly into a wall. Slamming on the brakes, I took a second to take note of my surroundings - exit was over there, alright. More slowly this time, I drove to the exit and felt myself get accustomed to the car. I'd driven before - just a few simple test runs around a lot to make sure everything worked. I was sure this couldn't be much different.

I pulled out into the street, and was surprised to see the number of racers - on a good night there were five, but I counted at least ten. Quite a few were boasting upgrades courtesy of yours truly, though saddeningly few of the drivers actually used them to their full capacity.

As I drove up to the back, I noticed a male driver to my right shoot me a questioning look. I must have looked strange wearing a full motorcycle helmet, but surely it wasn't too uncommon, right? I turned my attention back to the road to see a woman holding a flag stood carefully to the left of the road, knowing the dangers by now.

"Alright, you all know the rules by now," the woman spoke in a loud voice, "From here to the northern ferry station, blah blah blah, winner gets the money. Everyone set?"

I glanced around at the other drivers. All seemed prepped and ready to go - far more than me, and I suddenly realized how outclassed I was. These guys were _pros_. Maybe I shouldn't have come.

One glance at the Shining Chariot dispelled those thoughts, and I fixed my hands on the wheel.

"Racers ready,"

I shifted my foot on the gas pedal.

"Set,"

Suddenly, I was aware of how sweaty my palms were. My gloves were getting wet - what if they slid off the wheel or something? Should I wipe them down?

"GO!"

Shit! I slammed my foot on the pedal, but everyone else was already off. It did give me a good opportunity to see a bit of my opposition in action, though - some had activated short-lived boosters to give them a head start, and were now leading the pack. No foul play had occurred yet, and every car was still in play.

I swerved left at an incoming turn, and marvelled at my ability to not drive right off the road. Was this some kind of side effect of my power? There's no way I should have been able to do this well, even if I was bringing up the rear.

Speaking of doing well, a car painted a hideous orange and purple was sent careening into a wall to my right. I glanced at my rearview mirror to see the damages - I had to tilt a bit, but I managed to catch a bit of the wreckage.

And...someone right behind me? That didn't make sense, I was sure I was last, and no pedestrian would be driving so lose or fast in what was obviously a street race. Whoever it was was riding a bike with a custom blue and black paint job - real nice stuff, but I could've sworn I'd seen it somewhere befo-

Oh.

Oh _no._

I tilted the mirror to get a better angle, hoping against hope I was wrong.

I was not.

The person behind me was fucking _Armsmaster._

My mind went into overdrive. What did I do? Should I just stop and let him arrest me? Or do I fight back? I didn't want this kinda criminal record! I could be screwed for life if I fought against goddamn Armsmaster.

He was gaining on me. I glanced down at the plethora of buttons next to me, then back to my mirror.

Think, Trevor, think! I'd looked over this bike so many times I could give a lecture on it, it was one of my biggest inspirations! So what was his most likely move? Well, against vehicles he had those-

A jolt rocked the car and I struggled to keep it on the road, almost flipping when I was forced to turn. I knew that what he had just used was a taser-like thing attached to two wires that delivered a jolt of electricity designed to knock out a car's battery, even for just a second.

Luckily, my over preparedness came in handy, as I had installed insulators for this very thing. But as I looked back, I saw that he was _reeling himself in_ using the wires he had attached to my car. He was still a good twenty feet away, but gaining fast.

Glancing towards the road one more time, I noticed with relief that we were on a long straightaway. I hit the button I had very generously labelled 'autopilot' and scrambled through to the backseat before climbing up through the sunroof. Holding on for dear life, I began slowly crawling towards the back.

"Surrender now," I somehow heard Armsmaster's voice clearly over the roaring wind. We had to be going over 80 mph by now. "And this will all go over far more smoothly."

Pfft. Like hell I would. I reached the back of the car and began prying off one of the hooks.

"If you continue with this course of action, it will not end well for you."

Got it! The hook fell down to the pavement and began scraping after Armsmaster's bike, leaving a trail of sparks. I shifted my focus to the other hook, one hand attempting to pull it off while the other clung to the trunk.

Almost...

"This is your final warning."

There!

With that, I hopped back in the driver's seat and drove off into the sunset, leaving Armsmaster dumbstruck with awe behind me.

...is what I wish I could say. Instead, I overextended as the hook detached and lurched forward off the end of the car.

The sensation of my body hitting the pavement was easily the most painful thing I'd ever experienced. Every time I rolled the pain worsened, and I was almost thankful when my body slammed into the side of a building and stopped my momentum.

Yet somehow I couldn't stop the smile on my face.

I did my best not to dwell on the pain, and instead focus on how in the ever-living fuck I was going to get out of this. I did have one idea, and it was probably responsible for why I wasn't unconscious or dead right now, but it wasn't even done yet! Still, I didn't think I had any other options.

"Are you harmed?" Seriously? There goes any chance of me just laying down and taking it.

"Of course I am, I just fell off a fucking moving car," I stuck a hand out. "Help me up, will you?"

Armsmaster seemed to do multiple different things then. His head looked away down the road, where I knew the Shining Chariot would continue on but eventually stop due to the limited autopilot I had installed. One hand reached behind his back, while the other clamped onto mine and hauled me up.

Once I was up, I felt his grip loosen but I didn't let go. As he glanced back towards me, my thumb slid back to a small, concealed button on my glove. He started to pull his hand away, and I pressed the button.

A deafening _crack_ sounded out as a blast that was definitely way stronger than intended was sent out, sending me flying backwards and Armsmaster spinning out of control. I struggled to my feet from my landing spot on the sidewalk and immediately tore off my hoodie.

Underneath was my unfinished project - a suit of power armor that was really fucking uncomfortable. It had my signature white and black and I had intended for it to be worn under clothes and be easily concealable, which had apparently worked, and the finished parts were at least nice to look at.

Its features included a high-power blast out of the palms of the gloves that was intended to launch me far distances, a similar feature in the boots that hopefully worked a bit better, and a few other gadgets.

And would you look at that, Armsmaster was recovering and he did not look happy. I got up and began to run in the opposite direction and _holy shit_ _he was fast._ Easily twice my speed, especially in my current shape. I was not going to win this race.

Luckily, I had a few things he didn't. Seeing as he had foregone his bike, I slapped the side of my leg in the general area of a button I had placed there, and a few wheels in a line popped out of a compartment in the soles, giving me effective roller skates. My speed picked up almost instantly, and I was immediately outpacing him.

Holy shit. I was going to get away from fucking Armsmaster. _The_ Armsmaster - the guy whose bike had been an inspiration for some of my stuff! It was almost too good to be true!

Focusing back on my surroundings, I realized I'd spoken too soon. We were coming up on the bay, and I had neither the dexterity nor skill to make that sharp of a turn at this speed.

Still, I could make it work. Armsmaster was still fairly close behind, if I fucked this up it was over. As I came up on the guardrail I hit another button on the opposite leg.

My wheels suddenly flipped up on their side - there was a brief sensation of falling before I realized the hover was _actually working._ I was floating a few inches above the ground and all it took was a small "push" for me to get over the guard rail and begin floating above the water.

I nearly fell over as I steadied myself, but managed to stay upright.

Only problem was...where did I go from here? I turned and watched as Armsmaster arrived and carefully placed his left hand on the rail.

"I can tell by now that you're a tinker," he called out, "Give up now and you may be able to find a duty with the Protectorate once this is all said and done."

"Fat chance!" I shouted back, "I've evaded you this long: I can do it again!"

Armsmaster took a few steps back and drew his halberd, making a sweeping gesture with it. "Well then," he spoke,

"Try me."

He adopted a position that made it clear that if I tried to just charge him I'd be fucked - his halberd had too much reach and he was too close to the shore. I could get a couple steps in before he stopped me, he had too much horizontal coverage.

Wait...that gave me an idea.

Smirking, I bent down and began to hover straight for him. If he seemed surprised at that, he didn't show it, even when I went straight over the fence and switched off the hover before landing right in front of him.

So there we stood: me only a few steps away from bumping right into him. By all means, he had me.

So I charged straight at him.

One, two steps, then as he began to swing I ducked down and slammed a button on my shoe and was promptly sent flying over his head. I let out a cry - of fear, excitement, anger? All that mattered was that it had actually worked.

I landed roughly on a gravelly rooftop, but didn't stop. Almost as soon as I was standing I boosted again, to the next rooftop, then the next. Eventually I knew I was in the clear and I hollered once again, and this time I knew what it was for.

I had just got in a high-speed chase with the leader of the Protectorate and won.

And I loved every second of it.

...

A/N: Please leave a review with your thoughts, whether you like it or hate it. I'm looking to improve, and reviews help a lot.


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